Dietrich TC-Pure Limited Edition Sterile Dials (Specs & Price)
We've covered several Dietrich watches in the past, which showcase edgy, avant-garde designs like the DD-1 and 1969. Founded in 2010 by Emmanuel Dietrich, the brand focused on affordable eccentricity, but also flexed some horological muscle with the Perception in 2017, a complicated and sophisticated Swiss made piece with a high price to match. Dietrich also launched the Time Companion collection that year, a surprisingly conventional and well-priced steel sports watch. A recent collaboration with Toronto based designer Matt Smith-Johnson has resulted in the new TC-Pure Limited Edition, a stripped down and modern interpretation of the original Time Companion (TC-1).The stainless steel case and integrated bracelet remain unchanged from the TC-1 with their Audemars Piguet Royal Oak vibe, but the new dials really change the aesthetic. MONOCHROME's Founder and Managing Director Frank Geelen recently explained how personal a dial can be with his own vintage Royal Oak Jumbo' 5402ST. Matt Smi

CEO Jean-Christophe Babin Discusses the Bvlgari 2018 Novelties - Monochrome Watches
Like every year,?the month of January?was mainly driven by the SIHH and all the novelties that we’ve presented to you during this hectic week. Hosting eighteen large brands (among them Richemont brands) and seventeen smaller Independents, yet, there are always several brands exposing their novelties elsewhere in the city of Geneva. One of these brands is Bvlgari and we found some time, very early in the morning, to sit down with?Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of the brand. We?talked about how the brand was doing, after winning?two prizes at?last year’s GPHG, and?the novelties they were launching. This?is only part?one?of the Bulgari?novelties, as the second part will be unveiled at Baselworld next month.Although this was just part one, Jean-Christophe Babin already had quite some novelties to share with us. From a high-jewellery piece to a masculine chronograph, Bvlgari’s savoir-faire was well represented. Of course, our prime focus was on the two major men’s watch

BEHIND THE SCENES - Introducing the TAG Heuer Carrera CH80, both the prototype and the one that will be released - Monochrome Watches
A few months ago, TAG Heuer presented a brand new in-house calibre called 1969. It was clear that Baselworld would be the place for TAG Heuer to present a new watch that with that movement. And they did come with a very nice one, the Carrera CH80, a retro-style Carrera inspired by the very firsts 1960's versions. What we didn't expect, was that the CH80 presented in Basel wasn't actually the final design and that some, small but significant, changes were planned. For that reason, we teamed up with our friend David from Calibre 11, the famous online Tag Heuer magazine, to introduce you the real' Carrera CH80.The first question that you might ask is why Calibre CH80 and not Calibre 1969? Officially, TAG Heuer did some (minor) changes on the calibre between its presentation and its official release in Baselworld. As 1969 was supposed to be a codename for the development of the new calibre, CH80 refers to the 80 hours of power reserve (initially 70 hours in the 1969). The other reason that

Atelier de Chronometrie AdC #1 and AdC #2 - As Hand-Made As Possible - Monochrome Watches
Hand-made… these two words are too often misused in the world of watches, but not so when talking about Beat Haldimann as we recently did, or when talking about Atelier de Chronometrie. The latter, a small independent watch brand from Barcelona, rebuilds or revives vintage Omegas, entirely by hand. Approximately a year ago, our managing editor Brice Goulard wrote about Atelier de Chronometrie and its (at that time) latest creation, the AdC #5. Today we’re taking a look at two similarly hand-made, rebuilt timepieces based on vintage Omega wristwatches from the 1950s, dubbed AdC #1 and AdC #2. Last year I was in Barcelona and I had a few hours in between meetings. Since I’d heard about the brand, I reached out to Atelier de Chronometrie and luckily they had time to see me. Meeting with Santiago Martinez and Montse Gimeno of the brand, a couple living and working in downtown Barcelona, was a huge pleasure. Santiago is the brand&

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date Limited Edition Gradient Blue - Introducing, Specs & Price
Back at the SIHH 2018, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced a brand new collection with a combination of vintage and sporty inspiration – something that was clearly missing in the range. Based on the famed “Polaris Memovox” from 1968, the brand developed an entire line-up comprising a chrono, a WT-chrono, a time-only, a Worldtime and of course, an alarm “Memovox” version. Last but not least (and a personal favourite), was the vintage-inspired time-and-date diver, which is the base for today’s novelty, with new “Blue Double Gradient” dial. Meet the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date Limited Edition.InspirationThere’s no hiding the fact that the new Polaris collection hasn’t come out of the blue. It was modelled on one of the most iconic sports watches ever created by JLC, the famed, highly collectable and handsome Polaris Memovox – and looking at this watch, you understand that Jeager-LeCoultre was right in taking this piece as an insp